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High Molybdenum Grades Intersected at Cuatro Hermanos

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Symbol: VGM
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TORONTO, Sept. 5 /CNW Telbec/ - Virgin Metals Inc. (TSX: VGM) ("Virgin
Metals" or the "Company") presents assay results for the first four drill
holes at the Company's 100% owned Cuatro Hermanos Copper-Molybdenum porphyry
property located 145 km southeast of Hermosillo in Sonora, northern Mexico.
The holes represented by these results are part of a 6,000 m program aimed at
achieving exploration objectives outlined in the Company's August 8th 2007
news release. The Hermosillo-based subsidiary of U.S. drill contractor Layne
Christensen has been contracted to complete the work using a track-mounted
MPD-1500 reverse circulation drill rig.
The first four drill holes in the Cuatro Hermanos drilling campaign lie
within a 500 m long x 350 m wide area located along the north side of the
known porphyry, an area historically called the Sulfate Zone. Most of the
holes drilled previously in the Sulfate Zone were put down to depths of only
20 to 60 meters, however two of the old drill holes were completed to depths
of 162.5 and 260.0 meters, cutting substantial thicknesses of mineralization.
Current drilling has targeted 300 m depth but some holes were stopped short of
this depth due to mechanical, water or geotechnical issues. A summary of
Virgin Metal's drill holes is provided in Table 1 below:
Table 1. Reverse Circulation Drilling - Cuatro Hermanos Project
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Hole No. Inclination Total From To Intercept
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(degrees) Depth (meters) (meters) (meters)
(meters)
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CHRC0I-07 -90/vertical 182.9 15.2 182.9 167.7
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CHRC02-07 -90/vertical 251.5 4.6 126.5 121.9
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CHRC03-07 -90/vertical 166.1 35.0 166.1 131.1
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CHRC04-07 -70 248.4 164.6 221.0 56.4
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INCLUDING 164.6 195.1 30.5
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True
Thickness Mo Cu
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(meters) % %
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CHRC0I-07 167.7 0.032 0.197
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CHRC02-07 121.9 0.042 0.255
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CHRC03-07 131.1 0.011 0.200
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CHRC04-07 45.5 0.114 0.288
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INCLUDING 28.0 0.195 0.389
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Vertical hole CHRC01-07 was drilled to a depth of 182.9 m and returned a
167.7 m intercept from 15.2 to 182.9 m which averages 0.197% Cu and 0.032% Mo.
The drill hole is nearly a "twin" of Occidental Petroleum's core hole OXY-3,
which was completed in 1969 to a depth of 162.5 m from a site located about
12 m to the northwest of CHRC01-07. A comparable interval of OXY-3 returned
144.6 m grading 0.179% Cu and 0.034% Mo from 17.9 to 162.5 m. CHRC01-07 cuts a
substantial thickness of phyllically altered diorite and quartz diorite
containing pyrite-chalcocite-chalcopyrite-molybdenite as disseminations and
lesser veinlets. The bottom 12.2 m of CHRC01-07 (from 170.7 to 182.9 m)
assayed 0.18% Cu and 0.020% Mo, and had it not been for technical
difficulties, drilling would have continued to greater depth.
CHRC02-07 is located 125 m north of CHRC01-07 and was drilled vertically
to a depth of 251.5 m cutting 121.9 m of mineralization (from 4.6 to 126.5 m)
which averaged 0.255% Cu and 0.042% Mo. As in CHRC01-07, the hole cuts a
substantial thickness of variably quartz-sericite-pyrite phyllically altered
diorite and quartz diorite containing significant quantities of
pyrite-chalcocite-chalcopyrite-molybdenite as disseminations and lesser
veinlets. Grade distribution appears relatively uniform throughout the
interval, and there is also a deeper lower grade Cu-Mo intercept containing
local "kicks" of greater than 0.2% Cu and 0.020% Mo.
Vertical drill hole CHRC03-07 lies approximately 175 m northwest of
CHRC02-07, and was drilled to a depth of 166.1 m, cutting a 131.1 m thick
interval of low grade mineralization (from 35.0 to 166.1 m) grading 0.200% Cu
and 0.011% Mo. The drill hole bottoms in mineralization (0.109% Cu), and
although Mo values for the CHRC03-07 are overall quite low, they are buoyed up
by a 3.05 m interval (from 54.85 to 57.90 m) grading 0.266% Mo. As in the
previous two drill holes, pyrite with varying quantities of
chalcocite-chalcopyrite-molybdenite are localized as disseminations and lesser
veinlets in variably quartz-sericite altered diorite and quartz diorite
intrusive rocks. Possible intervals of hydrothermally-altered volcanic
stratigraphy noted by our geologists suggest we are nearing the northern limit
of the porphyry, close to the contact with the Cretaceous wall rock.
CHRC04-07 is located approximately 460 m northeast of drill hole
CHRC01-07 and was angled to the south at -70 degrees to undercut BHP Mineral's
1997 vertical RC hole CHM-4. Virgin Metal's drill hole returned a 56.4 m
intercept grading 0.288% Cu and 0.114% Mo from 164.6 to 221.0 m. The top of
this interval contains a higher grade zone which averages 0.195% Mo and 0.389%
Cu across 30.4 meters. Although much of the drill hole cuts phyllically and
propylitically-altered diorite, the Mo-Cu-bearing intervals appear to coincide
with a set of silicified quartz-diorite dikes. Virgin's step-out hole (which
was collared about 75 m north of CHM-4) returned considerably better grades
than the original BHP intercept of 39 m grading 0.106% Mo and 0.20% Cu from
179 to 218 m. Taken together, the relations for the two drill holes suggest a
northeast-dipping tabular or wedge-shaped body of high-grade Mo
mineralization, which may correlate with the Mo intercept cut (from 54.85 to
57.90 m) in the upper portion of CHRC03-07.
Virgin Metals CEO Chris Davie stated "These results confirm high
molybdenum values at what appears to be the northern extremity of the
intrusion. When combined with ubiquitous moderate grade copper along with
significant molybdenum over broad areas and to considerable depths within the
porphyry itself, we believe the current campaign will outline substantial
tonnages of mineralization even though at present we are testing only a small
part of a what is believed to be a much larger mineralizing system."
The Cuatro Hermanos property is underlain by Cretaceous andesitic
volcanic rocks which have been intruded by a composite lower Tertiary pluton
ranging in composition from granodiorite to quartz diorite and diorite, with
lesser aplitic phases. More recent uplift, erosion, and block faulting have
led to a complex geologic setting. Cerro San Felipe, the principal topographic
promontory on the property, stands out as a zone of strong iron oxide-staining
(due to the oxidation of pyrite and other sulfides) with a central core of
quartz-sericite-pyrite phyllic alteration and silicification which is flanked
by an outer shell of propylitized intrusive and volcanic rocks. Except for an
apron of talus which flanks the mountain, there is no post-mineral cover
concealing mineralization.
Exploration campaigns carried out intermittently over the past forty
years, for which varying amounts of documentation survive, have provided
sufficient data to outline a Cu-Mo porphyry system of substantial size, at
least 4.5 square kilometers in extent, and open in most directions. Virgin
Metals believes that it will be able to establish a substantial resource
through infill and step-out drilling, and by drilling deeper into the
mineralizing system. The previous drill holes are widely spaced (commonly
300 to 500 m apart, or more), with many of them bottoming in mineralization.
Nearly all of the holes were drilled vertically, even though there appears to
be a preferred orientation to some of the mineralized veinlet swarms, which
would be better tested with angle drill holes. The Company's management
believes that Cuatro Hermanos has the potential to yield substantially higher
Cu-Mo grades at depth, in (postulated) potassically altered intrusive rocks
located beneath the phyllic alteration shell.
To date, Virgin Metals' drill program at Cuatro Hermanos has demonstrated
that the historic information for the property appears reliable, and that
Cu-Mo mineralization is more widespread and extends to greater depth than
previously recognized. The mineralizing system contains a very large metal
content characterized in drill holes by long intervals of relatively low grade
porphyry-style Cu-Mo mineralization, supplemented by higher grade Mo formed
near the margin of the intrusive. Depending on the level of erosion, the
vertical range for porphyry environments is frequently greater than 1.5 km.
Taking into account that the drilling to date has been relatively shallow and
that the available alteration mapping suggests we are still relatively high in
the mineralizing system, the management at Virgin Metals believes that there
is ample room to expand the size of the deposit, and at the same time improve
the overall grade of the resource.
The drill rig has been moved approximately 700 m south of the Sulfate
Zone to an area historically known as the Main Zone. Through continued
drilling it is the Company's objective to demonstrate continuity between the
two zones and table a 43-101 compliant resource for the two areas. In time,
Virgin Metals plans also to focus on another porphyry target located 2.5 km
west of the Main Zone, in an area historically called the West Zone.
An additional four reverse circulation drill holes have been completed
(CHRC05-07 to CHRC08-07) at Cuatro Hermanos; samples for which have been
shipped off for laboratory analyses, and a ninth drill hole is in progress. A
map showing the location of the drill holes completed to date, along with the
historic drilling, is available with other information about the company and
its projects at: www.virginmetals.com.
Samples of drill cuttings at Cuatro Hermanos are being collected at 5ft
(1.52) m intervals, and reduced in size whenever necessary to (ideally)
3 to 4 kg using a Jones riffle splitter. Plastic sample bags are immediately
sealed on-site using pre-numbered security tags. The samples are stored for a
short time at the Company's field office near the project, until they can be
transported by Company personnel to ALS Chemex's sample preparation facility
in Hermosillo. A duplicate pulp and the reject material for all samples are
being securely stored for possible future use. All assay work is being carried
out at ALS Chemex's ISO 9001-2000 certified laboratory in Vancouver, Canada.
Virgin Metals has incorporated quality control measures for the analytical
work including the insertion of standards, blanks, and duplicate samples,
details for which will be made available in a future news release.
The company is also preparing to complete induced polarization and
resistivity geophysical surveys over select portions of the Cuatro Hermanos
property, to assist in identifying areas of porphyry-style mineralization and
silicification at depth. Bids are currently being received from select
contractors. It is likely that the geophysical surveys will overlap with the
current drill program. Results for the geophysics will be used to help refine
targets for a deep diamond drilling program which is scheduled to begin in
early 2008.
The Cuatro Hermanos exploration project is being supervised by Consulting
Geologist, John C. Spurney, M.Sc. Mr. Spurney, a qualified person as defined
under the terms of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the contents of
this press release.
About Virgin Metals
Virgin Metals is a junior exploration and development company; its
projects include two copper-molybdenum porphyry properties in Sonora, northern
Mexico. One of these, Los Verdes, is undergoing a feasibility study and is
expected to evolve rapidly towards production while the other, Cuatro
Hermanos, is presently the focus of an intense exploration effort.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" within
the meaning of the Securities Act (Ontario), including, but not limited to,
statements as to timing and extent of exploration programs and the
availability of exploration results. As such, forward-looking information
addresses future events and conditions and so involves inherent risks and
uncertainties, as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in
Virgin Metals documents filed from time to time with the Ontario Securities
Commission and other regulatory authorities. Actual results could differ
significantly from those currently projected as a result of, among those
factors, adverse weather, regulatory changes, delays in receiving permits,
accidents and delays in completing exploration activities not all of which are
in the control of Virgin Metals. The forward-looking information contained
herein is Virgin Metal's reasonable estimate today of future events and
conditions, but no assurance can be given that such events or conditions will
occur.